“But some of our players have been through it a lot. We went through the Rangers fixture six times last season.

“You always have to respect the opponent and respect the atmosphere.

“But a big part of my job last year was to prepare the team mentally for how to deal with big occasions and big games and how to keep that calmness. You want to go and play in a passionate stadium.

“It gives you the chance as a team to bond tighter together and have that oneness that you need.

“Then when a question is put to you in the game, which there usually is, it’s not about how each individual plays, it’s about how the team plays.

“Do they have that resilience and that mentality? That’s something that we’ve built over the last period of time.

“For us, the aim of the Linfield games home and away is to get through. We won’t be perfect but we’ll fight to get to the next round. Just as they did a year ago to reach the lucrative group stage of the Champions League.

It started with a shock defeat to Lincoln Red Imps in Gibraltar but Rodgers admits his Celtic team now compared 12 months ago is like chalk and cheese.

Celtic's Tom Rogic (left) with Aaron Boiger (Image: SNS Group)

He said: “Yeah, I enjoy watching us now! We had good guys last year but we were a long way from where I would consider them be a team.

“Now, fundamentally we can defend and they want to defend.

“They no longer defend with their eyes, they defend with physicality.

“They press, they get up to people, and then they play football, and they are good to watch. The numbers prove that. They win games.

“It’s still very early in the season, they are still getting fitter and stronger. But there’s a day and night difference from a year ago and we’re in a good place.”